People who fought off and escaped their imminent death (22 Photos)

Jon Baalsrud, 1943, sails to Norway and gets ambushed by Nazis. Flees with Nazis’ giving chase. Survives an avalanche, suffering frostbite and snow blindness he makes it over Norwegian Mountains and tundra to safety.

2

Hiroo Onoda, 1974, After wwII. Spends 30 years hiding in the jungles of the Philippines finally emerges wearing a coconut fiber uniform, as his old one had long since rotted away.

3

Poon Lim, 1942, stuck on raft in the south Atlantic Sea for 133 days.

4

The Crew of the Commerce, 1815-17, US sailors marched across the Sahara after enslaved by Bedouins. One man tried to eat his own arm and others drank camel urine.

5

The Donnor Party. Pioneers who in 1846 got trapped by snow in Sierra, Nevada and survived by resorting to cannibalism. 48 out of 87 survived.

6

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, 1972, plane carrying 45 people crashes into the Andes. Resorting to cannibalism they endure 72 days in mountains. 15 survived

7

Ernest Shackleton, 1914, Atlantic explorers abandon ship and live on ice before mounting a 16 day 800 mile crossing of the ocean.

8

John McCain, 1967, Senator John McCain survived 5 and a half years in Hoa Lo Prison during Vietnam war. Both arms and a leg broken, bayoneted and beaten by North Vietnamese army. Spends two years in solitary confinement and he refuses to go when released while other captured before him remained in captivity.

Steven Callahan, 1982, adrift on a life raft in the Atlantic with only 8 pints of water and 3 lbs of food drifted for 76 days and over 1800 miles of Ocean until he was rescued in the Bahamas.

15

Shin Dong-Hyuk, 2005, escapes from a prison camp in North Korea. Crawls over his partner who died, through an electric fence to freedom.

16

1st Marine Division, 1950, Chosin Reservoir Marines fight a grueling battle in a retreat with over 100,000 Chinese soldiers in North Korea and survive. Forces not only broke out of the encircling Chinese army’s trap but inflicted crippling losses to the Chinese.

17

Aaron Ralston, 2003, hiker traps his arm while climbing down Blue John Canyon in Utah. After 5 days he frees himself by amputating his arm with a blunt knife.

18

Alexander Selkirk, 1704-09, gets stranded on an island and this Scottish sailor spent his time reading the bible and ultimately survived his stay on the island.

19

Hugh Glass, 1823, mauled by a bear and left for dead he crawls for six months and 100 miles before reaching safety.

20

Joe Simpson, 1985, breaks leg attempting to climb the Siula Grande. Crawls 5 miles in three days and survives.

21

Juliane Koepche, 1971, teenager survives crash of Lansa Flight 508 and treks through the Peruvian rainforest before being rescued.

22

Beck Weathers, 1996, goes on expedition into Mt. Everest and 8 in his party die. Spends 18 hrs in subzero temps before staggering into camp. Suffered severe frostbite, corneal lacerations and hypothermia. Underwent ten surgeries, entire right hand and most of left arm amputated. Survives.